Fill In the Blank is a common content tactic that many big brands are utilizing to drive engagement (comments) with fans, on Facebook. If your brand is experimenting with this tactic, analyzing it against other content types is an effective way to measure performance and determine if FITB should be incorporated into your content strategy.

Using JetBlue as an example of a successful FITB posting strategy, we’ll break down how you can test and measure it as part of your ongoing content analysis.

JetBlue Baseline

JetBlue is one brand that has effectively incorporated FITB into their content strategy. Over the past six weeks, they have included FITB in a post approximately every 7 to 10 days.

Fill In The Blank Drives _______:

We analyzed JetBlue’s Facebook content performance over the 6 week period mentioned above. From this sample, we compared JetBlue’s Fill in the Blank posts against all other types of content posted on their Facebook Fan Page. Our analysis showed the following results:

We can see that Fill in the Blank has been quite successful at driving comments for JetBlue. It should also be noted that while FITB drives likes and shares, it is not at the same level as comments. In terms of driving these other engagement types, posts with Links are the top performers for JetBlue.

What Does it Mean to You?

Fill in the Blank can be effective at driving engagement. JetBlue is a great example of a brand that is seeing positive results from incorporating this tactic into their overall strategy. However, not all audiences are going to react the same. As you experiment, content analysisand comparison amongst post types can help determine if this is a smart option for your page. You can also use this type of analysis to track the type of content your competitors post and see what is driving engagement with their audience.

Read the original post here.

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• Here is why JetBlue is the most loved airline brand on Twitter
• How airlines and airports can dramatically increase engagement on their Facebook Pages through one simple action
• Three reasons why JetBlue’s eBay store is a genius move and why other airlines will follow

Customer service is real-time

Through social media, customer service has gone real-time and the expectation is now 24/7. Airline customers are turning to social media as another customer service channel. In fact, per Shashank, 71.4% of consumers’ tweets to the airlines are customer service related. Voice calls into customer service centers are projected to decline this year and there are cases where social conversations numbers are equal to voice call numbers.

With this increase in social media customer service traffic, consumer expectations have become more real-time. When asked about satisfaction levels through these new channels, Shashank sees that consumers are pleased to feel acknowledged even if the resolution is not immediate. While some of the top US Airlines are still well over an hour, the top two have their average response times to less than 15 minutes.

(see the entire infographic by Eezeer Data Lab here)

How are airlines driving real-time customer service?

Share local knowledge

One of the most innovative tools being used by CityJet is their Twitter concierge. The aim of the program is to provide personalized recommendations to travelers who request them. This helps drive their goals in engagement, customer service and revenue. Goals and KPI’s of social customer service programs need to translate back to the core metrics of the brand and marketing.

“Twitter has become the ‘go to’ tool for customer service within the travel industry. The majority of our passengers are business travelers and the Twitter Concierge taps into their need for a swift, efficient and seamless travel service.” – Christine Ourmieres, CEO CityJet

Provide personalized attention

London Heathrow Airport has a Twitter Concierge program that is not only focused on the expected topics like flight delays and gate changes, but it’s open to general questions from travelers such as where to find a nice pint of cider in the airport.

Combining the necessary information with the helpful human feel shows positive results at London Heathrow. Their goals of engagement and customer service are met while providing personalized advice.

Be where you’re needed

Delta was one of the first airlines to dedicate resources to social media, recognizing the importance of acknowledgement and resolution. The need to give their customers what they want led to a guaranteed reply within 10 minutes on Twitter, plus dedicated social media customer service and support in Spanish and Portuguese.

So how do you get started?

Here are some great tips on taking those first steps.

• Select a team or individual to run your social media efforts and support them with Subject Matter Experts.
• Get started with existing customers. Your organization may not have a large social following, so reaching out to your existing customer base to engage and scale from there.
• Translate the metrics back to the core brand marketing goals.

The full webinar is available below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is your airline or airport looking for scalable customer-service solutions on social media? SimpliFlying can help! To know more, write to us at contact@simpliflying.com.

• Q&A: How Brands Can Perform Real-Time Customer Service on Social Media
• Making ancillary revenue work with brand strategy – my interview
• Air New Zealand’s in-flight concierge has all the answers in the air
• Why Airlines (and Airports) must shift to Social Customer Service
• Exclusive webinar on airline marketing & branding: Registration now open

How many times have you signed up for a conference  or event only after hearing that your industry peers were doing the same? For us, conference attendees are often nearly as valuable as conference speakers, and hearing first hand from peers is important in the decision making step.

Airlines in Transition Conference and Travel Distribution Asia Summit

The Airlines in Transition Conference will be held in Istanbul from April 19-20, and feature over 30 airline CEOs. As an effort to test the powers of Social Media, SimpliFlying has teamed up with conference organizer CAPA to offer an exclusive Social Media discount of $500 off of the registration price (use “simpliflying” as a discount code during check-out)

If you can’t make it for this one, then there’s the Eyefortravel Travel Distribution Summit Asia, happening in Singapore from May 9-10, 2012 where you can save $100 by using “simplifly” as a discount code during checkout.

And we’ll be present at both the conferences.

We think this is a pretty cool idea and we are determined to showcase a real-time example of how social media can quickly get the word out there and create a guide for you to use when spreading the word about your own events.

Social Virality – Who has done it well?

Let’s take a step back and look at a few examples of social virality and social discounts.

American Express is now offering a new Twitter discount initiative where tweets are    turned directly into discounts. American Express Card holders can now earn retailer specific discounts after linking their cards to their twitter accounts and tweeting specific #hashtags.

COPA Airlines recently managed to drive 50X return on investment through a Facebook app and AAdvantage ran a viral Facebook Campaign in early 2011 and while the ROI on the initiative was not as high as the COPA example, they still managed to grow fans 100X in just 54 hours.

In both of these cases the campaigns quickly went viral.  Discount codes and event marketing can go the same way and social media should not be overlooked as a way to drive event registrations.

Then there is The Social Media Tourism Symposium – These folks know their social media and have turned the process of choosing a host city into a social media contest. In true NCAA Finals fashion, they have take on the zeal that spreads across America each March during college basketball finals, and have created their own #SoMeT12 Sweet 16. Cities and local partners are currently using social media to gain votes to bring the tourism conference to their towns.

SimpliSocial: Quick Guide to Social Event Marketing

1. Utilize the platforms that are most relevant to potential conference attendees:
2. Links on all pre-conference mailers noting to follow the conference on Twitter for a social-specific discount code.
3. Links on the conference website noting to follow the conference on Twitter for a social-specific discount code.
4. Messages to targeted Linked-in Groups.
5. Messages to related personal Linked-in contacts.
6. Tweets about the promotion (and Direct Messages to relevant followers).
7. Creation of Linked-in and Facebook Events.
8. A blog post (such as this one)
9. Targeted Facebook ads to relevant users
10. A creative a fun contest to create excitement leading up to the event.

Remember, the target audience for each conference/event is slightly different, research where your audience is and focus on those channels to most effectively market your event.

Goals to consider when using Social Media to push an event or a conference:

1. Target audience
2. Geographical coverage
3. Reach and relevance of each social platform
4. Messaging

Help us to prove the power and reach of social media

If you are interested in either the Airlines in Transition conference or the EyeForTravel Distribution Summit, then help spread the word of these cool social discounts to your colleagues and industry peers. When they ask how you learned about the conferences, let them know it was through the powers of social media.

Learn more about the conference and sign up here. Remember to use the special social codes: “SimpliFlying” when checking out for Istanbul, and “simplifly” for EyeForTravel in Singapore!

• [Presentation] Social Media ROI – here’s how airlines can measure it through dashboards
• The Best Airlines, Airports and Hotels in social media – finalists for SimpliFlying Awards for Excellence in Social Media
• Presentation – How airlines can segment customers and target niche markets through social media
• Announcing the Aviation Geeks Meetup @ Sydney, on Aug 5, 2009 #sydneyfly
• Is it possible to save more than you pay for an awesome service? (Hint: Yes)

However, regardless of whether the crisis is something the airline did to itself , an uncontrollable natural phenomenon or a strike, there is always a need to reach large numbers of people as quickly as possible, providing information, answering their questions and avoiding the spread of false rumors.

In today’s increasingly connected world, social media has proven to be the crisis management tool, and has been used successfully by both airlines and airports in a wide range of scenarios. The reason for its effectiveness is based on two factors: the first is that it allows the kind of mass communication and information dissemination that we mentioned earlier, and the second is that they are the place where an increasing percentage of users go to complain and seek information.

At SimpliFlying we’ve accumulated a wealth of experience consulting in social-media based crisis management strategies for both airlines and airports and, as our readers will know, we have even dedicated a section of our website to this subject and created an infographic for easy reference.  Today we’ve collected the best case studies on crisis management in one case-pack. Enjoy!

Planning is crucial to managing crises. Does your airline or airport team need a primer in handling crises via social media? We can help! Write to us at contact@simpliflying.com.

• Why Airlines (and Airports) must shift to Social Customer Service
• Crises Management for airlines and airports in the age of social media- Presentation from ACI Europe
• The Best Airlines Driving Customer Service & Crisis Management Through Social Media: Top 5 SimpliFlying Awards nominees
• How airlines used social media innovatively to battle the ashcloud crisis [from Mashable]
• Top 10 Airports on Social Media – case studies of the airports best at driving engagement

As usual the first, insights part of the podcast is free and it also contains a snippet of the interview with Gabi while the full interview with the industry expert – in this instance, Gabi Kool – comes at a price of only USD 19.

You can listen to the free version below in which Shashank Nigam, the CEO of SimpliFlying and Marco Serusi, our Community Engagement Executive, discuss and dissect the state of the loyalty industry. Alternatively, subscribe to it on our iTunes channel:

Note: The HTML5 player above should work with most modern browsers including those in mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone. However, if you’re having trouble playing the file, please use the flash player here.

Interview with Gabi Kool, CEO of Baltic Miles

In the interview we touch upon several key areas of the loyalty industry, prodding Gabi into giving us some juicy details about his company, the future of loyalty, the role of social media and more. Furthermore, thanks to Gabi’s background in the world of Hotel loyalty we also discover a some interesting lessons that the airline industry could learn from hotels.

Here are some major points touched upon in the podcast:

• Beyond loyalty, Shashank Nigam introduces the concept of “affinity” (05:45)
• How Baltic Miles has evolved over the past year (13:40)
• Gabi Kool’s take on how the loyalty industry has evolved (14:20)
• The development of Baltic Miles’ business model (16:00)
• What could aviation learn from the Hotel Loyalty? (23:50)
• Social loyalty programs and their integration with traditional loyalty ( 26:10)
• A future of consolidation in the Loyalty Industry (31:40)

Get the podcast by simply clicking the button below:

(Clicking on the link above will take you to Paypal where you can securely make your one-time purchase of $19. Please do not hesitate to contact us at podcasts@simpliflying.com if you face any difficulties in making the purchase.)

• Episode 3 of SimpliFlying Podcasts: Industry news roundup and exclusive interview with KLM’s VP for eCommerce
• The Business of Loyalty: SimpliExclusive Interview with Gabi Kool, CEO of Baltic Miles, reveals a changing loyalty landscape
• SimpliFlying launches fortnightly Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers
• The future of airline loyalty – lessons from Loyalty11 Conference
• Episode 5 of SimpliFlying Podcasts: Interview with Vueling’s CEO Alex Cruz and Industry Updates

In our view there are two key elements in this problem.  The first one is the need to be where the audience is and the second one is to find something that, while being relevant to the audience, is also able to inspire audience to part with cash and travel somewhere.

An Emerging social network

Just a few days ago we wrote about the high growth rates and airline marketing potential presented by Pinterest, the new image-based social bookmarking site. In particular we stressed how this new site had the potential to inspire travelers, and now we are seeing an early attempt by an airline to exploit this potential with the launch of the BMI Pinterest lottery.

Using Images Instead of Numbers for Lucky Draw

The UK-based airline created several different image boards featuring pictures from some of its destinations. Each board contains nine pins (images) that come associated with a number. To participate users have to re-pin (share) up to six images and by doing so they will select the numbers associated with those images. Each week a lucky number is announced and one of the users who re-pinned that image wins a return ticket to the destination that is portrayed.  The image below is an example of a pin for the town of Marrakech in Morocco.

Incentivise users

By giving its users an incentive to share these images the airline, as well as achieving brand recognition and engagement, was also able to raise awareness of its destinations and was able to reach its target market on an aspirational level, when the decision to travel has not been made yet and the awareness of an attractive destination could easily inspire a user to travel.

Positive results, what’s next?

This campaign was also clearly aimed at  growing the airline’s followers base on Pinterest by asking users to re-pin (share) the content created by the airline. It will be interesting however to see how the airline will deal with the increase in engagement and following that this campaign will undoubtedly drive.

At the time of writing BMI’s Pinterest profile had accumulated over 350 followers but most importantly almost all its destination-centered boards had in excess of 800 followers and several images had been shared over 100 times.  Considering the novelty of the social network and the fact that most images are automatically re-shared on the users’ twitter and facebook profiles, the level of engagement represented by these numbers is considerable, especially for a niche carrier like BMI.

If you wish to learn more about how SimpliFlying can help your airline or airport harness the powers of the social web (or even only Pinterest) and engage travelers profitably , we offer Strategy Consulting andMasterClasses that can be customized to your needs. You can get in touch with us directly at clients[at]simpliflying.com

Follow SimpliFlying on Pinterest here.

• How airlines and airports can use Pinterest to create brand associations through visual cues
• How BmiBaby Used Instagram to Visually Engage Travelers and Locals
• How COPA Airlines drove 50X return on investment from a Facebook app
• Three ways airports can use social media for air service marketing and route development
• [Infographic] How airlines around the world are using Instagram and what should you be doing

Now, the airline has decided to further enhance its efforts to engage with people based on their location, by launching an Instagram campaign that allows communities of users to meet in person on trips sponsored by BmiBaby.

Instagram community meetings

Instagram is a free photo sharing application on iOS that allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter, then share it on a variety of social networking services including Instagram’s own. BmiBaby was able to exploit a particular trend within the Instagram image sharing network: having “Instameets”.  Instameets are user-organized events where Instagramers take part in a “photo walk” and take pictures of a particular location or town, that are then shared on Instagram under a dedicated hashtag.

BmiBaby launched a campaign to celebrate the 4^th World Instameet Day by providing free travel to members of different Instagram communities, allowing them to meet each other. On 11^th March, members of the London Instagram community were flown into Amesterdam to meet with local Instagramers. The event was tweeted and blogged live using the #myamsterdam tag.

Increasing local engagement and destination awareness

Besides the obvious increase in positive buzz about the airline, the most interesting (and potentially rewarding) aspect of this initiative is the brand association that the airline creates with the place portrayed in the Instagram pictures. Furthermore, BmiBaby also benefits by creating a direct line of communication, and engagement with members of the local Instagram communities who become more aware of the presence of the airline at their local airport and of the other destinations they could visit by flying with the airline.

Overall, we’d say this was one of the most visually-appealing initiatives leading to community building and engagement to be carried out by an airline in recent times. SimpliFantastic, Team BmiBaby!

Curious about how new social technologies such as Instagram and Pinterest can help your airline or airport engage customers more profitably? Drop us a line here.

• [Infographic] How airlines around the world are using Instagram and what should you be doing
• Vote for the SimpliFlying Hero of April 2012: bmibaby vs JetBlue vs Virgin Atlantic
• Three ways airports can use social media for air service marketing and route development
• How BMI SimpliEngaged Customers with a Pinterest Visual Lottery
• KLM reaffirms its social media leadership with its innovative Stewardess Yourself app

Two things that SimpliFlying loves to see are conference #hashtags and the use of social media to increase audience engagement. Both of these things were in full
effect at Routes Americas.

Leading up to the conference I quickly learned which of the socially tapped-in industry players would be attending, and was able to follow their arrivals and expectations through twitter and the #RoutesAmericas hashtag. Throughout the event many tweeters also seemed to be following along with the conference #hashtag from afar.

Sunshine and (Aviation) Matchmaking

When I arrived in Nassau, I learned that Routes also had the foresight to offer attendees a conference specific smartphone application – something that proved to be invaluable for keeping up with agendas and re-caps. Our sources at UBM Aviation Routes tell us that while the use of a Routes conference app debuted at the 2011 World Routes event,  this is the first time an app has been used for a Routes Regional event and that 207 unique visitors used the app.

It works on all of the major smartphone platforms (iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and provided users with a full list of delegates and online profiles, which is key for event followup. I found myself constantly checking the app to keep on top of the daily agenda and to use the map features to find my way through the expansive resort.  My favorite features were the HUB News section and the social media links, as they created an easy way to keep up with current conference updates.

• Routes Americas 2012 – Airport-Airline Relationship Building at its Best
• Indigo Airlines goes international chic with latest brand campaign – the model of a modern global airline
• Simplinnovative Air Service Development Marketing by Penticton Airport to get Westjet service
• [Video] The best holiday greetings from airlines this season
• Social Media for Airlines Conference – Live coverage from London #SMairlines

This top 50 has been designed not only to celebrate the first birthday of the SimpliFlying’s Top 10s but also to provide our readers with a unique downloadable resource that features what we think are the very best marketing initiatives put forward by airlines and airports over the past few years.

An idea-generating tool

However we do not wish this top 50 to be a sort of “museum” of past initiatives but rather a tool for airline professionals to generate new ideas. We hope that by viewing such a wide variety of outstanding initiatives in a single slide deck, other marketers will be inspired to create other new and innovative campaigns that will form the basis of future SimpliFlying Top 10s.

You will notice that each case study has a category indicator before its title. These indicators refer to the original top 10 that featured that particular case study, and have been included  to facilitate further research into the subject.

A year of top 10s

The list below provides links to all of the past SimpliFling Top 10s

February 2011: Facebook contests

March 2011: Twitter Initiatives

April 2011: Location Based Initiatives

May 2011: Airport Initiatives

June 2011: Social Loyalty

July 2011: Viral Videos

August 2011: Route Launches

September 2011: Travel Distribution Initiatives

October 2011 Mobile apps

November 2011 Customer Service Initiatives

December 2011 Crowdsourcing Initiatives

January 2012 Wow Campaigns / Christmas initiatives

We hope this post will help you come up with fresh new ideas for your marketing campaigns. However, if you are looking for ways to ramp up your own marketing and social media integration, remember that we  also offer consulting services and MasterClasses as part of our Simpliflying University.

• The Top 10 SimpliPresentations – Celebrating 200,000+ views on SimpliFlying’s SlideShare channel
• The Top 10 Viral Videos by Airlines (plus bonus videos)
• Top 10 Airports on Social Media – case studies of the airports best at driving engagement
• [Infographic] The future of loyalty programs will be powered by social media
• The Top 10 Twitter Initiatives by Airlines

KLM is well known for its social media initiatives, but the speed and quality of their campaigns is really starting to become something unique. Just a few days ago we reported about their “Meet and Seat” social-seating initiative and now they’ve surprised us again by creating a fun, and very shareable, initiative that will surely help create new positive associations with their brand. Read on:

Ever dreamed of becoming a stewardess? Or of dressing up as one?

Well, personally I haven’t, but since it’s Carnival, I decided to accept a fun assignment by trying out KLM’s latest initiative: their “Stewardress Yourself“ Facebook app. Eventually, I ended up taking some rather embarrassing (but admittedly entertaining) pictures of me as a SimpliStewardess.

The initiative has been launched trough a dedicated tab in KLM’s facebook page that houses a unique Facebook app designed to bring customers even closer to the brand. This is how it works:

Users are first prompted to like the KLM facebook page and give permission to the app.

Next they are asked to choose picture from their facebook albums, upload one, or take one with their webcam. And then…  Well you can see for yourself in the pictures below:

You can have plenty of fun adding your face to one of seven different “vintage” pictures and portray yourself as either a stewardess or a pilot, and share the result with your friends.

But it does not end there

Users who share the campaign with at least 5 other friends can win one of 5 personalized posters portraying them as a KLM flight attendant. Furthermore for those who do not want to rely on their luck to get a personalized KLM item, the company also offers the chance to buy (remember ROI?) personalized mugs, rucksacks and mouse pads.

Ultimately, this initiative again affirms the fact that KLM is undoubtedly one of the most innovative airlines in the world and has mastered the art of creating initiatives that not just create buzz but can ultimately be tied to their business objectives as well. Kudos to the team. We can’t wait to see what they offer next!

• How BmiBaby Used Instagram to Visually Engage Travelers and Locals
• Top 50 case-studies of airlines and airports excelling in social media
• An analysis of how KLM is winning the social media battle among European Airlines
• The Big Flight: How Malaysia Airlines is using social media to launch their new A380
• Vote for the SimpliFlying Hero of April 2012: bmibaby vs JetBlue vs Virgin Atlantic